


Your Song Wasn't Necessary

by Little_Anxiety_Plant



Category: Voltron - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fantasy, First Time, Happy Ending, M/M, Masturbation, Oral, Oral Sex, Siren, Siren Lance, Xeno, Xenophilia, human keith, mermaid au, mermaid lance, slight angst, the smut isn't very good
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-21
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2019-02-05 01:45:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 12,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12784278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Anxiety_Plant/pseuds/Little_Anxiety_Plant
Summary: Keith didn't want to go on this vacation with his family. He had his own damn plans. Although through some extensive research he finds something very peculiar about the island, and suddenly he isn't so upset anymore.





	1. Vacations are Boring

Keith watched out the window of the rented family car, watching the isle's coast as they drive toward their new home for the next four weeks. Rouge, his chow chow, was sat between Shiro and himself with his head in Keith's lap. His stepbrother had been making idle conversation with their parents. However, Keith wanted nothing to do with that. He wanted nothing to do with their family trip. This vacation threw a wrench in the summer plans he had with his friends, so now he's keeping himself quiet and withdrawn. That'll teach 'em to mess with his plans.

When they reach the Brightly colored beach house they'd rented off of Airbnb, Keith was startled awake by his father telling him he can't just sleep in the car all day. Keith groaned his displeasure and got out of the car with Rouge and around the back of it where the trunk was popped open and luggage was being removed. He grabbed only his own suitcase and duffle bag, waiting impatiently for the door to be unlocked so he can go inside. 

The beach house, he noted, wasn't ugly by any means. It had an open and contemporary look. Floor-to-ceiling Windows lined the wall leading to the deck and beach, and nautical decoration littered the place. He headed upstairs with his pup to take a room, relieved to see there were three bedrooms as he had begged his parents to find. He chose the smaller of the two non-master bedrooms. This room was blue and cream colored with seashell print lining the top and bottom of the walls. One of these walls however opened up to a small balcony with a little wicker outdoor bench and fairy lights lining the rail.

Rouge jumped up onto the bed to take his rightful sleeping place. Keith set his duffle bag and backpack on the bed, leaving his suitcase to stand by the door. His stepmother walked by the room with her bags and spoke to Keith with a tone only a hardened mother could accomplish.

"You know we aren't letting you sulk in there all day, right, hon?" She shifted her weight to her left foot and watched him open his duffle bag.

He sighed his disapproval of this. "Oh and I'm expected to pretend to shit rainbows and piss sunshine? You know I didn't want to be here." 

"And that's why we aren't letting you sulk. We're going out to eat dinner in a few hours. Please at least try to enjoy yourself." She sounded exhausted. 

"The best I can give you is a fake smile and dead eyes." 

She sighs. "I guess that'll have to work for now." As she left for the master bedroom, she shook her head and muttered something about having to find something he may enjoy.

Keith carefully took out his electronics, rouge sniffing them as each one came out of the bag to make sure it was the same as when it went in. "Camera... Charger... Laptop.. Charger..." He rummaged through loose cables and various chargers, getting more and more frantic as the seconds went by. "Dammit where is it?" Almost the second he thinks to give up, he finds what he's looking for; the tripod he had gotten two Christmases ago. If he wasn't going to enjoy the trip, he's at least going to get good photos out of it for his Instagram and travel tumblr blog.

Just as he was finishing getting acquainted with his room and setting up rouge's food and water, Keith was called downstairs by his father to leave for some restaurant he'd never heard of. He could hear Shiro yelling "just a minute!" from the bathroom, so he took his time saying goodbye to his dog and getting his shoes on. Once he was downstairs, his stepmother slipped a red-and white lei around his neck. Siiiiigh. This is going to be a long month.


	2. Repetition is Comforting

Lance swam through the reef until he reached a very dangerous and rocky area of the shoreline. He loved sunbathing, but in most places it's too dangerous to do. There's always too many people around who could catch him. But here, surrounded by rocks of all shapes and sizes, he was safe from the prying eyes of foreigners.

Of all the things he had discovered on land, his favorite were the animals. Whenever he would sing a siren's song, he had a tendency to attract these animals. He loved the cats the most. They'd sit in his lap and purr as he sang. If he stopped singing, they'd still stick around. But of course, Lance didn't know that this was because he smelled like a fish and to these pretty felines, he would make a delicious lunch.

As he climbed onto his favorite rock, he started singing and the same kitties seemed to instantly flock to him. Two, three, four... He couldn't count far, but there were at least four. He sang to them and one, a cream-colored one who was blind in one eye, climbed into his lap. He pet this kitten and sang to it, the kitten calm and purring and curling up where he sat. 

His days were often like this. Life for a lonely merman was boring and repetitive. He'd collect treasures dropped in the reef by unfortunate foreigners, taking them for himself and often adorning his home with them. Sometimes he'd work on mermadic alchemy, though most of the time he was unsure if his potions would work since he never had a human to test them on. But if he wasn't doing that; he'd be here, on his rock, singing to the cats that come to him. 

At night, he'll say goodnight to each cat before he dives back underwater and swims through the reef, past the edge, and home. 

Home, however, was a bit of an overstatement. His true home was overrun by filthy foreigners. Humans who had no right to take his island from him. His current home was a shipwreck. He knows not the name of the ship or the passengers that may have been on it, but he did know that it suited himself well. 

He was able to separate it easily into sections and work around whatever he could not renovate on his own. His bed was a comfy and soft spongy material, and the entire thing was lit by bioluminescent underwater plant matter. His treasures and found things littered the place. While a lot of his collection truly were beautiful- golden watches and necklaces, pearls and jewels galore- some of it would be considered trash, as well- bottle caps, broken chinaware, and so, so many wine bottles. But he thought his collection was perfect.

His routine was simple, something well-thought out and repeated for decades. However, as he slept soundly curled up with a child's lost stuffed animal, Lance didn't realize that a certain human boy would put a halt to this repetition and change his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Readers! This is all I have written as of 11/21/17. 
> 
> Once I get into dialogue where Lance is speaking, I'm gonna have him speaking Spanglish and I just want it to be a warning that I'm not a native Spanish speaker. I'm half-way fluent, but I'll be using a translator for what I don't know. Please don't come for my head when it's bad.


	3. Mythology is Intriguing

Keith had been feebly avoiding his parent's attempts at forcing him to take part in family activities for the past two days, trying to just get some peace and quiet. Their family dinners and island activities just weren't his cup of tea. Shiro tried talking to him. Telling him that it's healthy to at least try to exist normally, but Keith wouldn't budge from his comfy spot on his bed with rouge at his side and a laptop in front of him.

A knock at the door tells Keith that there must be another activity his parents want to do. He sighs, "come in."

It's his father. Keith is the spitting image of the man, though he's a bit larger. "Keith, we're going to go to a restaurant for lunch. I know you don't want to go. Want us to bring you something back?" His father was always more understanding of his introverted tendencies. 

"Yeah. Thanks, dad." He barely looks up from his computer, but there's no bite.

"Of course son. Oh, and if you decide to leave at any point; just call us, would you? Your mother would be worried sick if we came back and you weren't home." There was genuine worry in his voice.

"I won't run away. Yet." The 'yet' was to lighten the mood. His father can't help but chuckle at it.

"We'll be back in a few hours, kiddo. Behave." His father pushed himself off the doorframe and left. Keith scoffed at the nickname, though he was very used to being called 'kiddo' by both his father and his stepbrother. 

Keith listened closely to the commotion downstairs, quietly celebrating when the house falls silent. He was finally alone. He picked up his laptop and phone and got off the bed. "Rouge, come." He left the room and at the sound of his name, Rouge jumped off the bed and followed Keith downstairs and into the living room where Keith takes his rightful place in the middle of the couch.

With his headphones removed, he plays his music loud from his phone while he scrolls through tumblr and Instagram on his laptop. Suddenly, about a half hour into this, his mother's words float through his mind. You can't stay in this house all month, Keith.

He groans. Even when she's gone, he knows she's right. He sits up and now with purpose, opens a new tab. He searches for information on the island. Fun stuff to do, teenage hangouts, the best places to take photos, things like that. As he searches, he comes across something that piques his interest. A page about all the mythology surrounding the island. Keith can't help himself. He loves mythology. He clicks the link.

He spends the next fifteen minutes reading articles about the history of the island. Sea nymphs and mermaids; humans driving them to leave the island and flee to the water. He was intrigued and wanted to learn more, though he knew the Internet could only take him so far. As he thought, he looked out the large windows to the ocean. Bingo.

Keith was quick to put everything back in his room. He pulled on his shoes, put his camera around his neck, and put Rouge's harness and leash on. 

"Oh. Right." His father's words reminded him that he had to call if he was leaving, so he did. "Hey, dad, I'm taking rouge out for a walk on the beach. I'm taking my camera too, so I might be a while. ... Yeah. ... Uh-huh. ... Eugh. Love you too. Bye." 

After he hangs up, he puts his phone in his pocket and makes sure the front door is locked before going to the backdoor and sliding it open. The sun is warm and the ocean air smells clean and fresh. He walks down the few steps to the sand and picks a direction, Rouge leading the way. 

At this point, Keith wasn't quite sure what exactly he was looking for. He knew he wanted to find evidence of mermaids. Or sea nymphs. Or anything mythological, really. Rouge occasionally chased crabs, or barked at seaweed as he pondered how to find these mermaids, and the sound broke him out of his stupor every time. He decided to just walk for a few hours and see if he came across anything new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While the idea for this fic is fresh in my mind, I'll be pumping out chapters like crazy. 
> 
> However the idea is already fizzling out.


	4. Captivating

As he walked for what seemed like forever, Keith was really starting to lose hope. Maybe he should have gone the other direction. He considered it. But he saw people in that direction and wanted to avoid those people as much as possible.

Just before he decided to turn around, Rouge started barking like crazy. Keith thought it was a crab or a jellyfish that got caught on land, but he saw nothing moving. As he searched the beachside, he suddenly heard what Rouge was hearing. It was someone singing. This wasn't just any singing, Keith noted. It was beautiful. Melodic and almost hypnotizing. He followed the sound with the intentions of meeting the source.

Lance was singing to himself as he often does, but today he was cut short. His ears twitched at the sound of a dog barking and someone walking on the beach, nearing his rocks. He sat up abruptly, scaring the cats away. He searched frantically when he spots a figure climbing the rocks toward him, not too far away. In his panic, he jumps into the water. He hears the person call out to him.

"No! Wait, come back!" Keith couldn't believe his eyes. He had to see it up close. He climbed the rocky shoreline with rouge in tow, making it to the same rock the owner of the beautiful voice had been sitting on. "I know what I saw! I'm not leaving until you come back!" Keith knew the attempt was worthless. But he gave it a try.

Lance was scared. He hid behind a rock and peeked out enough to see the human. He looked nothing like the rest of them. This one had long black hair that had been messily tied back. He had metal through his ears and bottom lip. His clothes looked well-worn, and his jeans were so ripped they may as well have been shorts. As he watched, he made very brief eye-contact with the human. Lance gasped and plunged himself back underwater.

Keith watched the rocks for movement and spotted something blue and shiny. It quickly disappeared.

"I don't want to hurt you!" Keith sat down on the edge of the rock. "I just want to know you."

Lance didn't trust this proposal. But he hadn't spoken to someone else in such a long time. He craved the attention he'd been missing out on for years. He thought of the pros and cons of speaking to the human. He looked harmless, so perhaps he had no ill intentions. He said he didn't want to hurt him. But was that really trustworthy? 

Lance was too desperate. He went against his better judgement and slowly came out of his hiding place. He kept his nose underwater, watching the human cautiously. The human was clearly surprised. He raised his eyebrows and leaned forward to get a better look.

"Uh... Hi? I'm Keith." Keith wasn't sure if the creature could even understand him. But he tried anyway.

"... Soy Lance," Lance replied, lifting his head enough above the water that Keith could hear. 

Dammit. That was Spanish. Keith didn't know Spanish. "Do you understand er... Even /speak/ English?" 

"Oh... Uh.. Si. My English isn't... Um.. Not very good." Lance hoped he was right. "I learn from foreigners."

"Ok. That's fine... It helps..." Keith kept moving around to get a good look at that tail. But really, he couldn't get a good look at anything.

"Aye... Aqui." Lance knew what Keith was doing; and once again, against his better judgement, he pulled himself up onto the rock to sit right next to Keith. 

Keith was absolutely in awe. Lance was, for a lack of a better word, beautiful. His tail was long, blue where the sun doesn't hit and teal on the areas it does. The scales blend with his human skin smoothly at his hip; with occasional, uneven scaly splotches on his neck and back. His hands were scaly from fingertips to mid-forearm, and the whole human part of his body had plenty of swirly markings. Looking at lance's face, Keith was unsure how to feel. His hair looked soft and fluffy, but those sharp canines told him to be careful. But his eyes? Man, he could get lost in those pretty deep blues.

"Are you real?" It was the first thing that came to mind, and lance's offended expression was a bit of a proverbial slap in the face. 

Lance was hurt and somewhat relieved. Keith really probably didn't mean any harm. "¿Si? You see me, don't you?"

"Well, no, yeah. But like- are you a real mermaid?" 

Well that wasn't very nice. "Mer/man/. I'm no chica."

"Oh. Right yeah, obviously I knew that," Keith stated in an attempt to not seem like an idiot. He seemed like an idiot.

Lance rolled his eyes and took the chance of being so close to get a good look at him. Though, his main point of interest became the box around his neck. 

"What... Is that?" He inquired, pointing to the odd little box. 

Keith followed the finger, then held up the camera. "This? It's my camera. It takes pictures." 

Lance was intrigued, but a bit confused. "Pic... Tures?" 

"Yeah. Pictures. See, look." Keith help up the camera, adjusted some settings then snapped a picture of Lance. This wasn't the best way to go about doing things though, since Lance panicked and jumped back at the sound of the shutter snapping.

"No, no, look, it's safe." Keith turned the camera and let Lance look at the slightly blurry picture on the small screen. "That's a picture."

Lance visibly calmed once he was told it's ok. "Muy interesante... Do you have more?"

"Yeah. I'm kind of a photographer." Keith flipped through other pictures and Lance looked at each of them.

Rouge didn't like how close Lance was getting to Keith and starts barking and growling at him. Lance got a little scared. Animals were never aggressive toward him, so he scooted away enough for the dog to stop, though now he was too far to see the pictures. 

"Rouge, no. He's ok. See?" To show Rouge that the creature was safe, Keith set a hand on lance's arm. "Sorry. Rouge is a little protective of me. He really doesn't like strangers."

Just as Lance was about to say something, he heard ringing. Keith clearly knew what it was cause he perked up and pulled a small rectangle- the source of the sound- out of his pocket. He put it to his ear and started speaking. 

"Yeah, I'm on the beach. ... Uh, no? .. Oh Jesus, /fine/. I'll be there in like, fifteen minutes. ... Yeah, yeah, bye." He placed the rectangle back in his pocket. "I've gotta go. Nice meeting you, though." Keith stood and brushed sand off his butt.

"Um... May we meet again?" Lance didn't want this moment to be so short-lived. He was happy. He liked talking to someone even if only for a few minutes. 

"Yeah, maybe. See ya, Lance." As soon as he was finished speaking, Keith was climbing down the rock and helping Rouge do the same. He looked back once he was at the edge of the rocks, but the mermaid was already gone. That was fine. Maybe he'll come back tomorrow.


	5. Nighttime Distraction

As he walked along the beachside, heading home, so much swirled through his mind. The few minutes he was able to spend with this mermaid were interesting. He spoke poor English, and didn't know what technology was. There's no way he could have been fake. Everything looked too natural. 

He's almost happy that Lance didn't understand what the camera was. Now he had a picture to fit his research. He thought about doing more research, perhaps being able to dig a bit deeper now that he knew a few things.

The sound of Shiro's voice brought him out of his thoughts. Keith looked up, and toward the beach house. Shiro was leaning on the railing of the deck with a drink in his hand. Keith came up the steps onto the deck, removing Rouge's leash and letting him inside.

"How was your walk," shiro inquired as he sipped his drink.

"It was fine. Rouge likes to chase crabs. We saw a few beach jellyfish, too." Keith wasn't about to mention the mermaid. Not yet. 

Shiro was glad Keith took the time to do something. "Having second thoughts about hating this vacation yet?"

"Nope. Still pretty pissed." That was a lie.

Shiro couldn't help but laugh. "I don't know what I was expecting... But hey, ma bought some board games and dad's gonna order take out in a few hours. You're at least gonna be apart of a family for that, right?"

Keith considered it. He wanted to stay up in his room, but he knew that he'd be forced to do more if he didn't do a little bit. "Fiiiiine. If it gets you people off my ass." He nudged Shiro playfully before going inside and greeting his parents. 

"Are you gonna join us for games, sweetheart?" His stepmother asked while setting up in the living room. 

"Yeah. Shiro talked me into it." Keith was a bit dismissive as he walked past the family room and up the stairs, letting Rouge in before closing his bedroom door. He crouched down by his duffle bag and dug through the untidy wires until he found the cable used to connect his laptop and camera. He opened whatever application he needed, and transferred pictures onto the computer, most notably the one of Lance. He labeled it accordingly and hid it in a personal file. He certainly didn't want to lose it, but he needed to put it somewhere and he didn't have a drive on him at the moment.

He spent the next thirty minutes editing some photos of the ocean and rocks that he took on his walk when he heard his name being called from downstairs. He closed the laptop and got off his bed, taking his take to make his way down. The smell of Chinese takeout assaulted his olfactory senses and he felt a little more at ease. At least it was something good. For a moment he wondered why there'd be any Chinese restaurants near them, but quickly dismissed it as he came and sat in the living room with his family. 

His stepmother had set out monopoly and gotten it ready for playing, while Shiro was setting the food out and their father was trying to find a good station for music they'd all marginally enjoy. 

Keith never would have admitted it out loud, not at this age, but he enjoyed moments like this with his family. Playing games and eating, laughing at their dumb inside jokes and being overly competitive. This was comfortable. This was fun. Though the entire time he was here, in the back of his mind, that pretty creature kept his thoughts occupied. 

After their family game night, Keith went upstairs to get ready for bed. He took a shower, brushed his teeth, then climbed into bed to cuddle Rouge and sleep. But, the more he laid there in the silence of the room, the more he thought about the mermaid. He wasn't sure what he wanted to know exactly, just that he wanted /more./ his stepmother did always say he was obsessive and impulsive. 

Keith sat up in bed and grabbed his laptop off of the nightstand. Rouge huffed a breath in his direction, standing on the bed and doing circles until he was comfortable with his head in Keith's lap. Keith stayed there all night, trying to find more information about this island and the people who once inhabited it.


	6. He's Easy to Talk to

A few days later, Keith left for a walk early. He told his parents he was leaving, and took Rouge and his camera with him. In the morning the air was slightly different. Cooler, more crisp. The smell wasn't any less pleasant; though there were more birds that could potentially poop on him. 

Keith made his way down the beach, taking pictures and letting Rouge sniff seaweed and chase crabs. He made it to the rocks and when he got there, there were a few things on the rock he and Lance had met each other on the previous day. A locket with a faded blue-hued picture, a dented metal teacup saucer, and a pair of beaten up aviator shades. Keith was a bit confused, but his confusion didn't last long once he saw Lance emerge from the water with something else in his hand. Keith's mind quickly put the pieces together as he sat down to greet the mermaid. 

"Hola, Keith," Lance said as he placed another pair of sunglasses on the rock. 

"Hey. I'm kinda surprised you're here again," Keith said as he patted his leg to tell Rouge to lay down.

"Why would I not be?" 

"I dunno. So I couldn't get more proof. Put it on the Internet like 'hey mermaids are real and I have a picture to prove it!'" Keith spoke in a mocking tone.

"What is... Internet?" Lance had this cute and very curious tilt of his head.

"Uh.... The Internet is like.. Mm... It's kinda hard to explain." 

"I want to see the Internet," Lance said, very determined to learn this new thing.

"Well the Internet isn't something you can like, touch... Here. Let me show you." Keith pulled his phone out of his pocket.

Lance gasps, "is that box the Internet?" 

"No, no, the Internet is in this box. And this box is called a phone." Keith unlocked it and scooted close so Lance can watch. "You can see anything you want with the Internet. You can watch videos, read articles from other countries, talk to people all over the world." Keith opened YouTube and found a video to show Lance.

Lance was completely in awe. His eyes were wide, his mouth slightly open in shock. This was amazing. After a while of being shown the Internet, Lance made a comment.

"We have nothing like this. Not exactly, at least."

"Not exactly? So you have something?" Excellent deductive reasoning skills, Keith.

"Si. We use these." Lance took ahold of the necklace he was wearing. "we can talk in our minds to whoever has a matching one." Lance opened a bag on his hip and pulled out a necklace that matched his own.

"Wow. How do they work," Keith asked, a bit skeptical.

"They're enchanted. They're very hard to make and use, so there's very few." Lance put the necklace back.

"Damn... That's crazy." Keith tried to rationalize that since Lance is a mermaid, he must be right. "So, where do you like... Live? In a cave or something?"

"A shipwreck. It's where I keep my treasures." 

"Wow. Why a shipwreck? That's... Pretty unconventional," Keith said. He could have sworn his research said they lived in underwater cave systems.

"My people were driven away from the island... We used to live on land... Then extranjeros came and took our island. We lived underwater for as long as we could, but our safety was threatened. I stayed because this island is home. I want it back," Lance said. Keith could hear the hurt in his voice.

"Shit... That's terrible. What happened to your family?"

"I don't know. They disappeared, I guess," Lance answered. He seemed a bit uncomfortable, though Keith understood better than anyone.

"I know how you feel... When I was born, my mom disappeared. Left me with my dad and never said a word." Keith hoped it would help ease Lance's discomfort.

Lance offered a smile, he was happy someone understood. "It's nice to know I'm not alone..."

The two talked for hours about their lives and the differences between them. Keith loved hearing about how mermaid societies worked, and how they rely on alchemy and magic rather than science. Lance, however, though that technology and everything surrounding it was the most amazing thing. He even got to use Keith's phone for a little while. This went on until Keith was once again called to come home. His parents had been getting worried and didn't want him staying out so long. Keith said his goodbyes, and Lance stopped him before he climbed off the rocks.

"Good bye, humano lindo." Before Keith could ask what that meant, Lance had jumped in the water and swam away. The tone was flirty, and Keith couldn't tell if that made him uncomfortable or not. But by the time he made it back to the beach house, he'd forgotten about it.


	7. Brotherly Advice

For nearly a week, every single day, Keith would go to see Lance in their secret meeting spot. Sometimes he'd bring new human things from his room, and sometimes Lance would show Keith his pretty treasures that he brought from his home. They would talk for hours on end, and both of them were always disappointed when Keith had to leave. 

Once when coming back somewhat late, Keith noticed the living room light still on. It wasn't too out of the ordinary, but he knew he'd been caught. As he came up the steps and to the glass doors, he was relieved to see it was just Shiro and not their parents. He opened the door and closed it quietly after he had stepped inside.

"You've been sneaking off a lot lately," Shiro says in an authoritative tone. "What, did you meet someone dad and ma wouldn't approve of?"

Keith went red in embarrassment. Of all the things for him to assume. "What..?! No.. Shut up!"

Shiro chuckled. "Alright, alright... How was your walk?"

Keith stepped into the kitchen and opened the fridge door. "It was fine." 

"That's good..." Shiro got up from his place on the couch and came into the kitchen, dumping an empty to-go container into the trash bin. "See anything interesting?"

"Well..." Keith mulled it over. "Would you believe me if I told you I think I saw a mermaid?"

"Please tell me this is some new drug I haven't heard of." 

"No, Shiro, it's not drugs... Just- would you?" 

"Definitely not," Shiro said as he took a water bottle from the open fridge. 

"That's what I thought," Keith muttered, still trying to make a decision on what to eat. 

"What, do you think you saw one," Shiro asked.

"Well... I saw this guy. Like a week ago. I've been meeting up with him on the beach. He's..." Keith paused to find the right words.

"A pretty native boy," his brother asked in a teasing tone.

Keith scoffed, rolling his eyes. He pulled a jug of juice from the fridge. "Whatever. Shut up. All I really know is his name. I don't even know how old he is..." Keith figured that might be a good question for next time. "Whenever I leave, he calls me like... Lindo? Or something?" He opened the cabinet above the breakfast bar for a cup.

Shiro had a look of amusement on his face after hearing this. "Keith, in Spanish that means pretty. He's flirting."

Keith went bright red with this new information, stopping everything he was doing. He was baffled. This beautiful mermaid thinks he's pretty. "Don't fuck with me, Shiro. What does it actually mean?" Keith resumed his task of pouring the juice.

"No, Keith, it really does mean pretty. What reason would I have to lie to you," Shiro said, leaning against the kitchen counter.

Keith nudged him out of the way to put the juice back In the fridge. "I'm not pretty."

Shiro almost speaks but Keith had already stormed off and went upstairs. He was close to slamming the door but remembered his parents right next to his room and closed it quietly. Rouge was up here, curled up at the foot of the bed. Keith set his glass on a coaster on the nightstand. He stripped down to his underwear and sat on the bed.

He took three, deep, breaths. He knew he needed to calm down. Someone flirting with him wasn't the end of the world. But this did cause him some confusion. Was Lance attracted to him? Was he attracted to Lance? Was "gay" even a thing for merpeople? So many questions arose but he couldn't think of these things right now. He needed to sleep. He laid on his stomach with his head next to Rouge. He scratched behind one of Rouge's ears and sat in the silence. 

After giving his dog some attention he laid down at the head of the bed and crawled under the covers, wiggling his feet to be under Rouge's warm body. Maybe he'll find a way to talk to Lance about these things during their next meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really don't like writing for Shiro oh my God.
> 
>  I realized really late that I uploaded chapter six twice. It's been fixed.


	8. New Information

Keith had to fight with his parents to convince them to let him go. He argued that if he went to their family-whatever, that he'd only be upset and brooding the whole time. This won them over and they allowed him to go as long as he promised to answer the moment they called. He promised as such and was off to the beach with a lunch and his camera packed away in his backpack. 

Lance was already at their spot, waiting and swishing his tail in the water. A few cats were near him, and he was singing just like he was that first day. It was a beautiful sound, and Keith told himself he really needed to get a recording of it one of these days, but just as fast as that thought popped in his head, it vanished. 

The song flooded his mind and the only thought in his head was that he wanted Lance. That he would do whatever it takes to get Lance. He climbed the rocks quickly and without care. When he was at the rock Lance was sat at, he slipped and cut his hand, yelling out in pain which immediately stopped lance's song.

Lance turned to look for the source of the sound and gasped when he saw it was Keith. He gasped and shifted himself over, pulling Keith onto the rock and sitting him up. He took the cut hand and examined the blood on his palm. 

"Aye, dios mio...! Lo siento, lo siento /mucho/, Keith..." He went into panic mode, looking around frantically for something he could stop the blood with.

"No, hey... It's ok... See?" Keith moved his hand. "See? I'm fine. Just a little scratch. He took off his backpack and pulled out a little bag that worked as his first aid kit. He wrapped an ace bandage around his hand. "There. Good as new."

Lance was clearly still worried. "Lo siento, I /never/ would have been singing if I knew you'd come here early. Keith, I-"

"/Lance/. It's fine. I'm fine. It's just a little scratch. What are you so worked up about?"

"It's my fault you're hurt!" 

"What are you talking about?" Keith really was getting annoyed. 

"It's just- it's my fault... I'm sorry..."

"No. You're not getting away that easily. Tell me how any of that was your fault, I just /slipped/, and-" Lance cut him off.

"I'm a siren."

"Uh.. What? I thought you were a mermaid."

"Si... But I'm a siren... When I sing, humans are put under my spell. They do what I say... Or they try to get to me, even if it kills them..." Lance sounded very guilty. "You were under my spell. I try not to sing around humans..."

"No, but..." And after thinking about it for a second; those few minutes he was listening to Lance singing, Keith had only heard the song. He wasn't looking at his surroundings. All he was looking at was Lance. And thinking that he wanted Lance. "Oh..."

Lance nodded. "I'm very sorry..."

"It's fine... I forgive you, really." Keith tried to sound as sincere as possible. "Hey, I brought food."

This excited Lance. It helped him forget what happened. He liked human food. It was just so different from the food he eats now. Keith placed his backpack in his lap and pulled out a few containers of food his stepmother had made. She had a hard time finding the ingredients since it was a Korean meal and they're on a Latin island, but she made do with what she could find.

"This is from Korea," Keith said. "It's called gimbap. It has rice, vegetables, and meat in them. I asked for no fish, so these are made with beef and chicken." He pointed to each part of the rolls as he explained. 

Lance readily took the container and picked up the rolls, examining each one before popping it in his mouth and very visibly enjoying the food. After he had eaten four rolls, Lance asked a question.

"What's Korea like?"

This was a difficult question for Keith to answer. How does he explain this to someone who's never left the ocean? "It's... Really cold during the winter. And it lasts a really long time. Summer is really short, and we don't really get a ton of rain. Um... We live in the city, so... Kinda loud? I guess? Sorta."

"I wish I could see it. But I'm not very good on my legs," Lance said, looking out into the ocean.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa... /legs/?" Keith was completely taken aback.

"Oh... Yeah. Sirens can have legs. Some are very good at retaining them for a long time. I... Am not."

"Why didn't you tell me you could just... Sprout legs??" Keith really couldn't wrap his head around this, while Lance spoke like it was common knowledge.

"Well... It just didn't seem that important." Lance punctuated this sentence by popping another roll into his mouth. "Sobre todo desde I'm no good at it."

"Well, ok, but that reminds me. I had a pretty important question," Keith said. 

"¿Que?"

"How do mermaids have babies? Do you do it like humans? Do you do it like fish? Do girls lay eggs? Like... How do you do it?" Keith really couldn't care less if Lance got offended. He had to know.

Lance blinked at him a few times with wide eyes. It was a lot to take in, but he did his best to answer. "I think... We do it like... Like how humans do. First, only sirens can have babies since only sirens can have legs. They go to a high priestess for a blessing. Then they do sex, and if they were prospero, they have to stay on land for five months until the baby comes." 

"Oh. Yeah. We kinda do it like that. Except for the blessing part. That's kinda weird." 

"They can do it without the blessing, but it's taboo." Lance bites halfway into another gimbap roll.

Keith nods, satisfied with the answer. "Hey, how old are you?"

Lance tilted his head in confusion. He didn't know what that meant. Mermaids didn't tell time very well since being deep sea creatures, they had no sun to do so. "What does that mean?"

"Like... How many years have you existed?" 

"Oh, um..." Lance took a minute to think about that. He wasn't entirely sure how long a year is, but he sure could guess. "I think..." He counted with his fingers. "Diez y... Seis, siete, ocho.. Nueve? Diez y nueve."

"Ten and nine... So... Ninteen?"

Lance nodded, assuming that must be correct.

"Ok, so you're like two years older than me... I'm seventeen. So.. Uh." Keith thought, wanting to translate it into Spanish. "Diez and... Siete?"

Lance smiled at the attempt and nodded. This human was cute and charming. He really was growing an affinity toward him and sometimes thought that maybe he should stop. Humans come and go, and he knew this one probably wouldn't be staying. It made him sad to think that Keith would disappear from his life.


	9. A Lonely Merrow

Swimming back home, he could see his ship from very far due to the glowing oceanic flora that had overtaken the water-logged ship. Lance swam in through a seaweed- covered hole in the side of the helm. He knew not how it got there, but he did know that the seaweed offered him a sense of privacy. He made his way through a short hall and into the open room of his home. He untied the bag at his hip and dropped it near a dresser that had algae growing up the sides of it. He looked at himself in his mirror. It was foggy, he couldn't see much with it around the edges of the glass, but the middle was fine and he liked being able to watch himself move around. 

After examining himself, he swam to the other end of the room and opened a barrel that he kept fruit in. This wasn't any old fruit, of course. There's no way he could have gotten ahold of land fruit. This was fruit that grew underwater. It flourished around his ship, so he picked it and kept it in a few barrels. He took one out and bit into it, savoring the sound of the crunch. 

While he enjoyed fish and ocean fruit, he did miss the meaty meals Keith would bring him. They were so different from what he was used to. He loved trying new things, and food certainly was no exception. His favorite food so far had been anything bread-y. He loved the texture and the flavor. Keith would bring dips his father makes and let Lance try them. The merrow always loved them all. 

Lance looked around his lonely little home. Small schools of fish would swim through occasionally, and they really were his only company whenever he was here. He wished deeply that his family would return, or that he knew where they were. But he was aware that they would never come back. The island wasn't safe for their kind. 

The loneliness got to him, and Lance lost his appetite. He put the fruit in a separate barrel and swam to his bed- a soft, fluffy plant- and curled up on it. He closed his eyes and listening to the sounds of the ocean surrounding him. If he listened closely enough, he could hear whale songs. This was what ultimately put him to sleep, though thoughts of Keith kept his slumber light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I found the term "merrow" while reading a comic on tapastic called "Out of the Blue," and it's really cute. I highly recommend it.
> 
> I know this chapter is short, but I needed a bit of filler to set up for the next chapter. It's gonna be a dramatic next two-three chapters, so this is just a little look into lance's life instead of Keith's for a change.


	10. Tension

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was just sorta me trying to see how well I can write smut after two years. It's unnecessary to read for the story.

He tossed and turned in his sleep. Or at least, Keith figured he did since Rouge had moved to the floor. Keith felt very uncomfortable. He rolled onto the other side of the bed in hopes of relieving himself of this discomfort, but as he did that he felt why he wasn't able to sleep. He lifted the sheets to see a tent in his boxers the size of the Empire State Building.

".. Seriously? Fuck me...." Keith was aware of how uncomfortable it would be to let it go down on it's own, so he trudged along. He knew what he had to do.

Porn? No. That'd be too risky, he thought. He'd just have to make something up. He sat up and grabbed himself through his underwear, rubbing gently. He closed his eyes and began his fantasy.

A beautiful boy was sat in front of him. Keith didn't really have anyone in mind. Just a boy who happened to be pretty. Clothes were strewn about, and the boy had been fingering himself to give Keith a show, before deciding to push Keith's hands away from his boxers. "Here... Let me do it," he says. Who was Keith to say no to a request like that? 

Keith imagined his own hand belonging to the boy. The boy rubbed his dick through the boxers, giving him that oh so delicious friction that he needed. He brought his face close, nuzzling with his cheek and kissing; open-mouthed and sloppy. Keith could feel the pre-come leaving a small wet spot on the front of his boxers. 

He shoved the boxers down just enough, grabbing himself at the base. He reached over with his free hand, opening the drawer to his nightstand and pulling out lotion. He squeezed just enough into his hand and started jacking slowly. 

The boy was slow and teasing. Keith imagined him licking the head, then engulfing it in the heat of his mouth. Swirling his tongue and flattening it against the sensitive bottom part of the head. He slowly worked his way down the length of his member, unable to go all the way and gagging just halfway down. "Shit, that's it..." Keith couldn't help himself. He began bucking his hips into his hand, and Just as he had cum over his stomach and hand, the boy was no longer some mystery fantasy boy. He was Lance, just for a split second before Keith came down from his high. 

He examined the mess. "Gross..." He got up and slowly moved to the dresser where the box of tissues was. He wiped himself down and pulled his boxers back up. At this time, he really took the time to think about it and came to two conclusions. The first, Lance is definitely attractive. The second, Keith needs to find out if it's anything more than lust.

Keith tossed the soiled tissues into the trash bin near the bedroom door and crawled back into bed. He rolled onto his side and made kissy sounds in the direction of his dog. "Rouge. Up." Rouge heard the command and jumped onto the bed, snuggling right up to Keith's side. Like this, they were both comfortable and slept soundly the rest of the night.


	11. Risk Taker

This time, Keith was a bit more late than he usually would be. Lance was sitting, watching the skyline change color. He was humming quietly and had three cats around him. Keith came quietly, not wanting to ruin this serene moment. He sat down and dangled his feet off the side of the rock, leaning back on his hands and following lance's gaze to the line where the sky meets the sea. The sound of the waves crashing against the rocks and seagulls overhead backtracked their moment. It really was beautiful.

"I see you've brought cats," Keith says to break the silence.

"Yeah," Lance muses. "They only come when I sing..."

"Oh. Well... I don't only come when you sing," keith states to possibly make Lance feel better.

Lance chuckles at this. "Yeah, you're right... You don't." Lance thought for a second then sat up more than he had been. "Hey, I found something for you."

"What is it," Keith inquired.

Lance rummaged through the bag at his hip before pulling out three gold coins. He had polished them and removed whatever algae matter he could, wanting to give them to Keith as a gift. Keith took the coins, turning them in his hand and examining each one individually.

"Wow... These are.. Really cool." Keith held one up to the sky. "Thanks, Lance."

Lance grinned a pointy-toothed smile. "I thought you'd like them," he says matter-of-factly.

"Well you were right... Thanks." Keith shoved them in his pocket, considering for a second possibly drilling a hole through one when he gets home and wearing it on a necklace. "You know, I actually have something for you too. But it's not like, you know, fancy gold coins."

Lance tilted his head, "what is it?"

"Well, I've been talking to someone about you. He thinks you're just one of the island boys." 

In that moment, Lance immediately worried for his own safety. All of the trust he had built up for Keith had just gone out the window. Keith obviously hadn't noticed this yet, as he kept talking. 

"Um, but, I've been talking to him about me.. In relation to you. You... Do understand that I'm not staying here forever.. Right?"

Lance ignored the question. He really hadn't heard much beyond 'I told someone about you.' "I-I /knew/ I shouldn't have trusted you!"

Keith was confused. His brows knitted together. "What?"

"I thought you wouldn't say anything!" Lance started pushing himself away and back into the water. So much was reeling through his mind.

"Wait, no, Lance-" 

"No- no! You are /never/ going to see me again! This is the worst possible thing you could have done to me!" Lance had felt as if he were torn apart from the inside out. He dove under water with intentions of leaving and never coming back, but he heard Keith call out to him.

"But..- Lance..!" Keith sounded desperate. He really cared for Lance. He didn't want him to disappear from his life. He just had to explain himself. 

Lance took pity. He turned and popped his head out from under water a bit away from the rock. "You- you have one minute to explain why I shouldn't just drown you right now."

Keith had no idea how to explain himself in one minute, but he had to try. "It- it's my brother. He doesn't think you have a tail, he has no idea what you are. I had to talk to him about stuff I was /just/ about to reveal to you cause I-I didn't know how to just tell you..."

Lance was still upset. "I don't care who he is or what you told him! He could have followed you! He could have found out what I am!"

"He wouldn't have, I know it."

"I don't care what you 'know' he would or wouldn't do. Secrets aren't well kept when a lot of people know." Lance was on the brink of tears.

"get up here..." All Keith wanted to do was try to explain his feelings, and this was all making it very hard.

"Keith, I... I /trusted/ you...!" Lance really was crying now, this situation had brought on heart breaking memories. 

"Lance, just get up here."

Lance shook his head no. Every part of his being told him he should just go. That he needed more time to pick his favorite things from his ship and find a new home. He couldn't stay near the island. 

"Jesus, fine." Keith hadn't planned on getting wet today, but here he is, jumping into the water.

Lance didn't like what was happening, but he stayed where he was. He was willing to give Keith one last chance. 

"Just... Let me do this." Keith waded through the water, close to Lance. "I just need to know... So don't freak out or something." He took a deep breath, leaned forward, and kissed him.

Lance's reaction took a few seconds. He was shocked. His shock quickly turned to distress though, as he had pushed Keith off of him almost as quickly as he had kissed him. 

"No- I- I have to go." Lance once again dove underwater and swam away as fast as he could manage. 

Keith didn't understand why Lance was so upset. So what if he told his brother? Keith needed someone to confide in, and Shiro was that person. All Shiro said was that Keith should be honest with himself and Lance. So he was, and where did that get him? Soaking wet and pissed as all hell. He glared out at the ocean. 

"Well fuck you too, Lance!" Keith got out of the water and let himself air dry and fume for a while, angrily heading back home to the beach house. When he was asked what's wrong by Shiro, Keith flipped him off and went upstairs and into the bathroom. He pulled off his still-damp clothes and got in the shower. He didn't necessarily feel like he was dirty, he just wanted to wash off the feelings.

Eventually all that anger worked itself out of him, and all that was left was sadness. He hated the feeling he got when Lance didn't return the kiss and instead pushed him away. It was an awful feeling.

Keith decided, here in the shower, that he was no longer ok with being on this god forsaken island. He couldn't wait to go back home to Korea, and never even think about this trip again.


	12. He Only Wants to Help

Lance spent the next three days searching the shoreline for Keith. He searched the boardwalk and densely populated areas of beach, but he had no luck. He knew that if he ever wanted to speak with Keith again, he'd probably have to go on land. He hated going on land. Legs were awkward and unpredictable, but this had to happen.

He found a fairly secluded area and searched for someone wearing something he thought would fit him. Once he found his target, Lance began singing. The man turned to find the voice and slowly walked toward it. Lance continued to sing, ordering the man to strip to his underwear. He made the man turn back and forget that he ever had clothes on in the first place. 

Lance pulled himself on land and transformed his tail into a set of long, leggy, legs. He pulled the clothes on, adjusting them so that they're comfortable before walking along the beach to search for Keith.

 

Keith hadn't left the house for three days. He spent all of his time angry and sulking in his bedroom with Rouge and his laptop. He had two weeks of his vacation to go and he was counting down the days until he never had to be reminded of Lance again. 

The only time Keith would leave his room was when he needed food or when Rouge needed to go outside. Other than that, upstairs was his home. This bothered Shiro. He didn't want Keith to be sulking the way that he was. It was just such a strange shift from just a few days ago, so he was determined to get it out of him.

After a lot of convincing and a few bargaining chips, Shiro managed to get Keith out of the house, so long as Shiro bought Keith whatever he wanted today. 

Shiro took him around to different stores, trying to bring Keith's spirits up. His attempts were futile. When they stepped out of their last store, the ocean was visible through some trees and Keith glared at it as if Lance knew he was. 

"Look, let's just get something to eat and leave. I don't wanna be outside anymore."

"Alright, alright... Calm down, Keith." Shiro pulled out his phone and searched directions to a nice beachside restaurant they could eat at. "What's got you so upset anyway? And don't give me that 'nothing, God, who are you, mom' speech. I want to know and you're going to tell me."

Keith rolled his eyes. "Ugh. Fine. I took your advice.. I was gonna tell him my feelings... But he got mad at me."

"Why was he mad at you?" 

"Cause I told him how I talked to you about it. Apparently he didn't want anyone to know about him, uh, his family's like... Really religious," Keith said. He hoped that sounded convincing. 

Shiro thought about this for a moment. "Well, you know, it's really not the end of the world. He's... Kind of right. Even if he never said it out loud, it was implied. I don't blame you for asking for help. But this isn't totally his fault either." Shiro put on his best 'soft authority' voice.

"Yeah, whatever. Shut up. I don't want to talk about it." Keith crossed his arms, trying to stop the conversation.

Shiro came upon the little beachside restaurant and walked in, being told to seat himself by a waiter. He decided to sit at an outside table, overlooking the beach. "Did it ever occur to you that he may have just needed time to think? You should try to go talk to him."

"I'm probably never gonna see him again..." Keith sat across from Shiro. "I don't /want/ to see him again. And I doubt he wants to see me."

"Keith, that's a terrible reason to never talk to someone again," Shiro said while looking through the menu. "Kissing someone after an argument like that just... Well, it hasn't been your best idea."

"I didn't know what else to do..! He was swi- walking away..!"

"Keith, lower your voice." Shiro had a hushed, authoritative tone. "That's still no reason to be so mad at him. It was a lot of emotions at once and it was probably really overwhelming. You're the exact same way."

"Whatever. I'm standing my ground." Keith began looking through his own menu.

Shiro sighed and shook his head. Keith can be a real pain in his ass. 

"You know, you say it like you're better than me or something."

"Keith, I know I'm not. But I'm not the one running away from a small disagreement. I'm not the one thinking that this reaction is rational. Usually by now you'd've had enough time to cool off and be reasoned with, but you're not."

Keith huffed his anger at this accusation. 

"How do you think he must feel?" At this point, Shiro was looking at Keith as he lectured him. "He's probably feeling just as hurt as you are, but he has /no idea/ what's going on. You used to care so much about hurting him if you told him how you felt. What the hell happened, Keith?"

"He stopped trusting me..." Keith sunk in his seat and hid from shiro's glare with his menu. 

Their conversation was cut short by a waiter coming to their table. Shiro ordered a lemonade and a Tex-Mex plate, while Keith ordered a Cuban sandwich with non-alcoholic sangria soda. Their menus were taken away, meaning Keith had no shield to hide behind from his brother's lecture. 

As soon as the waiter had gone inside, Shiro spoke. "So just because you lost his trust, that means he suddenly means nothing to you?" 

"No. It means that he probably found a place far, far away from me so that he never has to see me again..."

"Jesus, you are impossible..." Shiro pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine. The conversation is over. I don't know how to help you."

Keith never asked for his help, though he secretly appreciated whenever Shiro did try. Even as stubborn as Keith is, Shiro always did make an attempt to help with his problems, and he would be forever grateful for it.

After their lunch was finished being eaten and the bill was paid, the two walked home along the beachside. It was a nice day, and Shiro insisted. 

"You know, Keith... I just have one more question... What does this boy look like?"

"Uh..." Keith pulled up the mental image of Lance. "Short, curly brown hair. Dark skin, but with like, /lots/ of freckles. Deep blue eyes. Dimples. Uh.. Skinny. Taller than me, shorter than you." That last one was a guess.

"Hey, Keith?" Shiro asked.

"Huh?"

"Is that him?" Shiro pointed to a boy who was worriedly asking a couple on the beach a question. He was motioning his had somewhere eye-level, and speaking Spanish. Keith followed Shiro's pointed finger.

"Holy shit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A friend of mine sort of helped me write this chapter, she mostly just helped with making the conversation believable. She wrote for keith.


	13. Broken Hearted

Keith looked at the boy who was unmistakably Lance. He was entirely dumbfounded. What was he doing on land? He said he was bad on his legs, so it must be important. 

"Yeah... Yeah, that's him," Keith said.

"Well... Go talk to him. I'll be here."

"What do I even say," Keith asked, looking worried.

"Just.. Apologize. Tell him the truth. Tell him that you two really should talk about what happened."

"I doubt he'd accept an apology.."

"Apologies should be said where apologies are due."

Keith knitted his brows. "Who are you? Mom?"

"Keith, just go talk to him." Shiro was exasperated. "You don't have a choice."

"Ugh. Whatever. Fine." Keith took a deep breath and waited for Lance to be done talking to the couple before marching himself over. "Lance, wait."

Lance was about to walk away but stopped in his tracks and turned at the sound of his name. "Wha- Keith?"

"Lance.. What are you doing here?"

"I was- I was looking for you... Quierá decir lo siento... I was hurt... I still am..." Lance looked down at Keith's chest. He was too ashamed to look him in the eye.

"And then- and then you made it confusing by kissing me and I just... I had to get out of there." Lance looked back at Keith's eyes. His brows were knitted in frustration and he was biting his bottom lip.

"Well.. I'm sorry for confusing you.. I know-" Keith sighed. This was hard to admit. He spoke through his teeth. "I know I shouldn't have gone and told anyone that you existed. But I needed to talk to someone... It's not like Shiro believed in any of that stuff anyway."

Lance didn't see this as a very good excuse. He still trusted Keith not to say anything. Keith still said something. He knew Keith trusted Shiro, but there was something in him that said there wasn't any reason to think he's safe. Lance decided not to say anything. It's best if he just nodded and stayed quiet, so that's what he did. 

"He's the one who pointed you out and told me to come talk to you, actually... He's worried about me. Wants me to be happy." Keith hated saying it out loud. 

Lance shook his head, not wanting to talk about this stranger anymore. "But.. Why- why'd you kiss me?"

"I had feelings... They needed to be expressed," Keith mused. "I didn't know what to say, so it just... Came out as a kiss, I guess."

Lance hadn't been kissed in a really, /really/ long time. He missed the feeling. He missed physical contact of really any kind. But he had to be honest with himself and with Keith. "Keith, I know you're not here forever... And that's a huge bummer, but... Relationships between mermaids and humans... Never work... They're hard.. Nearly impossible..." As he shut the door of possibility, he wanted to cry. He was throwing away a rare and good chance of happiness, even if it would have only lasted another two weeks. 

"Yeah... I get it. It was stupid of me to think there was a chance." Keith pushed his hair back. He could feel his stomach drop.

"I'm so sorry..."

"Yeah.. I am too..." Keith rubbed his cheek. He could feel the tears coming on. "Shiro and I should go. O-our parents are gonna be worried." He didn't mean to, but as he beckoned Shiro over, he pushed past Lance.

Lance was torn. For the second time in a week, his heart had been shattered. The door was closed, the key thrown into a volcano. He didn't know what to do, he didn't know if he could save this after he had ruined it. He watched Keith walk away.


	14. Options are Open

As Lance watched Keith and his brother walk away, he came to a realization. He really was about to let Keith walk away. Something good in his life that made him happy and less alone. If he didn't do something, he would just be alone again for god knows how long just waiting for an unsuspecting human to discover him without ill intentions. He /had/ to do something.

"No- keith, wait..!" Lance jogged to catch up to them again.

Keith turned, confused and a bit worried.

"Keith..." Lance took a deep breath. "Meet me in our spot tonight. After the sun sets."

Keith nodded "uh... Sure, yeah. Ok."

Lance nodded, smiling. Keith and Shiro turned back and left for home. Lance however, had some stealing to do. He headed into town and got to work on his half-baked plan.

 

"So that's the pretty native boy, huh?" Shiro says to Keith as he watched a crab scuttle away from two children.

"Yeah.." Keith didn't want to talk about it. His mind was absolutely reeling.

"He seems nice."

"You were listening, weren't you?"

"I admire that he apologized first. And wanted pretty much the same thing as you." Shiro chuckled, and Keith pushed at him.

"Don't eavesdrop. It's rude."

The pair walked along the beach and back to their beach house. Keith went straight upstairs, locking his bedroom door and sitting in bed. For a minute, everything was still and silent. The only thing you could hear in the room was Rouge's dog collar clinking against itself as he scratched his ear. Then it began.

Keith completely broke down. He covered his face as he was crying and did his best to keep his noise minimal. He wanted to scream, to tear something apart, anything to distract him from the sadness. But the only thing his body wanted to do was cry, so he did. 

Rouge heard this and climbed onto the bed, nudging his head under Keith's arm and into his lap. This made Keith cry even harder. He was sniffling and teary and his entire face was red. He really wasn't a pretty cryer. Eventually he lied down with Rouge, his crying becoming minimal. He set his alarm for seven, around when the sun set. He was gonna take a nap before going so that he at least isn't too sad.

When Keith arrived, some time around eight, he could see light coming from the alcove of rocks where they had met so often. He carefully but quickly climbed the rocks to the spot, and couldn't believe when he saw when he got there. Lance had lit small tea light candles, and found ways to make them float in the water on banana leaves. There were flowers and flower petals covering the area, and there Lance was with his arms on the rock and his tail moving idly in the water. Keith had no words for the scene before him.

"Humans think this is considered romantic, right?" Lance cocks his head to the side.

Keith couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, yeah they do..." He sat down amongst the candles and petals. "What's all this for?"

"Well... I'm still not lying when I say that humans shouldn't be with merpeople... But I do really like you... And I know you still have a solid week here..." Lance took a breath. "It'd be hard, but.. I know ways to make it work..."

Keith suppressed his grin. In his mind, the best case scenario was that Lance wanted to have a quickie before Keith was gone. This was so much better. "Make it work.. How?"

"Well, first with this..." Lance reached into the bag at his hip underwater. "Remember when I told you about these?" He held up the matching necklace to his own. "we can still talk when you're far away..." 

Keith took the gift and put it around his neck, looking down at it. "I almost forgot about them..."

Lance then pulled himself up onto the rock next to him. "And for now, we can just... Play the next two weeks by ear. I might even let you try kissing me again."

Keith chuckled, pushing Lance playfully. "Any other ways?"

"I could be on land more often... I could move to waters you live closer to." Lance watched Keith's hands. "But those are really hard to do... And probably not very safe for me."

"Yeah, I get it... I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself," Keith said.

"And.. There's one other way..."

"Well, what is it?"

Lance hesitated. "Well... When someone drowns in mermaid infested waters, they become one of us." He took one of Keith's hands. "But I don't expect you to do that... I don't want you to kill yourself for someone you've only known for a month. That would be stupid..."

"Yeah, sorry but... I don't think I would." Though, Keith kept it in mind. If their relationship thrived for a long time, it's certainly an option. 

The pair sat on that rock and talked for a while, Lance eventually getting the floating tea lights out of the water and putting out all the candles, Keith helping with the task. 

"Hey... Come back to my place. I wanna be inside with you for once."

"Keith... I'd be totally naked. What if we got caught like that," Lance asked. He really was worried.

"Um..." Keith looked through his backpack that he never left without, pulling out clothes he kept in there invade he got wet. "These should do fine."

Once Lance was changed from tail to legs, they walked back to Keith's beach house. They snuck inside and quietly upstairs. Though it was much easier said than done. They had to wait until all the house's lights were off to go inside, which took half an hour. Then once inside, Lance said he was afraid to climb the stairs. There were just so many. Keith ended up holding his hand the whole way. But eventually, they made it to Keith's bedroom with a closed door.

Almost as soon as the door was closed, Keith grabbed Lance and kissed him. Lance's hands went to his shoulders, pushing Keith away.

"Gotta give me a bit of warning first, Keith..."

"Sorry." He paused. "Can I kiss you?"

Lance laughed and nodded. As they kissed, he was looking forward to this week and a half. Though they both knew the end would be sad and abrupt and very, very lonely. But for now, they enjoyed their chance to be together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is technically the last chapter. It's rushed and poorly written, but I wanted to finish this in fifteen chapters.
> 
> The next chapter is smut and is no way important to the development of the story.
> 
> With that said, I'm considering a prequel and sequel. The prequel would be all about my baby Lance, and how his heart was shattered into a million pieces by someone else. The sequel would be an extension of when Lance mentions how when someone drowns, they become a mermaid. 
> 
> So those might happen. 
> 
> I've got other ideas in the works, and not all of them are good. So look forward to the good ones, yeah?


	15. There's a First Time for Everything

That first time was soft and gentle, and nothing went below the belt. But for five days after that, they both got more and more bold. Then, Keith made a suggestion one night while sitting on the edge of their rock.

"¿Quieres que hacer lo /que/?" Lance didn't even realize what the request really was.

"Uh... You don't have to if you don't want to, I know it's kinda soon..." Keith shifted uncomfortably.

"No, I... I've never done anything like that." Lance looked down at the water. "What if I'm no good?"

"So what? No one's /actually/ good on their first time. It takes practice. I'll guide you as you go."

Lance wanted to try, so he nodded his head and got in the water as he was instructed. Keith scooted forward so his butt was on the edge of the rock. Lance swam between his thighs. Keith showed Lance how to unbuckle his belt and unzip his pants, but left the merboy to do the rest.

Lance first got a good look at what he was starting with, then hesitantly reached for Keith's underwear, pulling them down and releasing his semi-hard penis. Lance jumped when it sprang up. He didn't quite expect that. He held the base with his hand and looked at it from every angle he could. Meanwhile, Keith leaned back on one hand, keeping the other in lance's mess of curls he calls hair. He said it was to help him, but they both knew it was because Lance loved having his hair pulled.

"Well don't just look at it... Move your hand." The only thing Lance could think was up and down, so he did. It was slow and didn't have enough pressure. "Hold on a little tighter... Yeah, that's it... Just like that." Keith closed his eyes.

Lance watched it get bigger, but not by a ton. Keith wasn't some porn star, just a horny teen. Eventually he remembered the full request and leaned forward, licking the tip of the head. Keith groaned above him and tugged his head gently forward. Lance took the hint and was much more liberal with his next assault; up the entire length of the bottom with his tongue flat against it. 

"God, yes..." Lance had probably never seen Keith in such bliss before.

Lance returned attention to the head, taking the whole thing in his mouth. He swirled his tongue around it and sucked as best he could. Keith kept praising him, making him feel like he could take it further. Lance pulled off and licked his lips, returning his mouth to the head and moving just a few centimeters down the shaft. He continues sucking and jerked what his mouth couldn't get to.

Keith was guiding his head up and down. Lance even let him fuck his mouth a few times only gagging the first two times his dick went down his throat. 

Lance had just the head in his mouth when he heard Keith suppressing a moan with his hand and it confused him until he realized what was about to happen, but it really was too late for him to move. Keith came in his mouth and when it hit his tongue, Lance moved back and the rest shot across his face. He didn't know what to do with what was in his mouth, so he just swallowed.

Keith took a few moments to come down from his high, then looked at the mess on lance's face. "Shit, sorry baby..." He reached forward and swiped at the cum with his fingers, wiping it off on the blanket they laid down on the rock for making out purposes.

"It's ok.." Lance pulled himself back up. "It... Was kinda hot."

Keith was surprised. He never thought a mermaid would think that human fetishes were hot, but there was a first time for everything. He watched Lance with half-lidded eyes. 

"Lance, change to legs... Let me return the favor." He didn't know if lance's junk would be any different, but he'd gone down on a few guys before and didn't mind showing Lance a whole new world.

"Um... Are you sure?" Lance looked down at his tail. 

"Yeah. I'm sure. It'll be fun." Keith's tone was light. Flirty. It eased lance's thoughts, so he transformed his tail into legs.

Keith kissed Lance, gently pushing him down onto his back and hovering over him. His tongue pushed past lance's lip, and Lance allowed it. (He learned the hard way that you aren't supposed to bite someone's tongue if it's in your mouth.) one of Keith's hands traveled down lance's chest and down to his thigh. He pulled this leg up so that it's bent at the knee. When he pulled away from lance's lips, he trailed sloppy, open mouthed kisses down his jaw and neck. He'd bite and suck on lance's most receptive areas of skin.

Once he reached his hips, Keith sat up. He reached into his bag for a small container of Vaseline. It's the best that he could get his hands on, so it'll have to do. Only after he had some fun with his mouth, though. He lifted lance's leg over his shoulder and sucked a bruise into this thigh. One of lance's hands when for Keith's hair and held on. The other covered his tomato-red face. 

"Get on all fours." The command was abrupt and authoritative. Lance liked it although, he didn't know what that meant. 

Keith rolled his eyes and pulled Lance to his knees and turned him around. He got Lance in the right position them pushed on his back to get Lance to lower his chest down. Now, Keith had a perfect view of Lance's butt and hole. He noted that Lance was entirely hairless everywhere. Must be a fish thing. 

As he admired this ass, he couldn't help himself. He smacked one cheek and got a nice gasp out of Lance. He checked to see how lance's dick was doing and yep, it was rock hard. He gave it a few non-committed pity tugs as he rubbed the other cheek. He kissed the red one lightly and quickly moved his mouth. 

Keith licked a line up from lance's taint to his hole. Lance wasn't sure how to feel, shifting uncomfortably. Keith tongued the hole for a moment before opening the container of Vaseline. He coated a finger liberally and waited for it to be warm to touch the hole. He prodded at it and slowly got a finger in the tight little opening. Lance continued shifting, clearly uncomfortable.

"Relax, baby... It'll feel better if you just try to relax..." Keith rubbed up and down his lover's spine, refraining from moving the finger much.

Eventually, Lance moved his hips back to tell Keith to keep going. Keith took the hint, pushing his finger all the way in. He moved it in and out slowly, taking his time. When he could tell Lance had relaxed enough, he re-lubed and added a second. With this kind of pressure inside he started prodding for lance's prostate and could tell when he found it by lance's moaning

"Dios mio, si, ese lugar..!" Lance moaned and moved back on Keith's fingers. Keith didn't know what it meant, but could tell it was good.

Keith jacked Lance off with his free hand, pulling the other out of him. Lance whined at the loss but was quickly satisfied again when Keith replaced the fingers with his mouth and tongue. Without warning, Lance moaned loud and sweet and came all over Keith's hand. Keith milked the boy for all he was worth, licking his hand clean when he was done.

Lance sat up, sore and exhausted. Keith wrapped an arm around his waist and held him close. He knew how intense everything must have been for his first time doing anything anal, so he was sure to make sure Lance felt ok.

"How was it," he asked, wiping his fingers off on the blanket before running that hand through lance's hair.

"Different... Good-different." Lance leaned into the touch.

Keith nodded, deciding not to say anything else. He looked out at the water, enjoying the quiet moment with his pretty mermaid boyfriend. This definitely wasn't some romantic rendezvous, they were both relieving some tension. But neither of them could help but feel closer to the other afterward. They hoped this moment, this feeling, would never end.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, readers! This is the first fanfic I've written since 2015, so it's probably not very good. My writing hasn't changed a bit, though.
> 
> The relationship between Lance and Keith is gonna be a bit of a slow burn, but I like writing smut so I might write some out-of-fic's-canon smut if you catch my drift. 
> 
> I don't have any scheduling ideas for this, so if you're excited for more, don't get your hopes up too much.
> 
> Pessimism and long explanations aside, I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy getting back into writing.


End file.
